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At some point in everyone’s childhood, a kindhearted teacher, seeking to encourage unrestrained curiosity, makes this simple pronouncement: “there’s no such thing as a silly question.” As adults, we know that silly questions do, in fact, exist. As a result, we tend to stop asking questions like “can fish get sunburned?” It’s just too silly to even consider. Sunburned fish? Ha! Hilarious! Except for one small detail: fish can get sunburned. The moral of the story? Your teacher was right. Keep on asking – and we’ll keep right on answering.

As it turns out, Koi fish in backyard ponds and water gardens are particularly susceptible to sunburn. Combine a shallow body of water, limited shade, and long hours of hot, summer sun, and Koi fish suffer from the aquatic equivalent of sunburn.

Like all other fish, Koi fish rely on a natural protective layer – otherwise known as a “slime coat” – that fends off everything from disease to injury. When Koi fish are exposed to too much direct sunlight, their slime coats are compromised, and sickness and lethargy follow quickly. Left unresolved, long-term exposure to sunlight will actually cause a Koi’s untimely demise. Fortunately, it’s a simple problem to fix – and we have the right supplies to do it.

To prevent aquatic “sunburn,” we strongly recommend the use of our Koi Shelter, which allows fish to take refuge from the sun before it causes damage. Like the Koi Shelter, our Aquatic Plants also provide excellent natural protection – along with the added benefit of aesthetic beauty. In addition to those solutions, creative pondkeepers also use rocks to create protective underwater caves, where fish can take a break from the sun’s rays.

Once you’ve taken care to provide adequate shelter for your Koi, the next critical step is to help your fish to restore its slime coat. For a simple solution, we recommend adding an appropriate quantity of salt to the pond. In cases where fish seem particularly lethargic, we strongly encourage the use of Fish Stress Reducer PLUS to resolve the problem quickly – and bring your Koi back to health in short order.

I think I spotted some eggs in my pond, do I need to do anything with them?
Kathie- Walnut, CA

If you have koi fish in your pond, there’s a distinct possibility you may be right. If you don’t, we may have a mystery on our hands.

For the purposes of identification, koi eggs are about the size of small beads – or small pinheads. Their color can range from milky white to greenish brown, and you’ll often be able to see black dots – which are developing koi eyes – inside them.

Fortunately, by the time you’ve identified the eggs, Mother Nature is already on the job. But, as a good steward to the future koi of America, you might consider adding some Aquatic Plants to the pond to provide good hiding spots for the fry. With everything from floating plants to pond flowers to submerged oxygenating plants, we have plenty of choices to keep your kiddie koi safe from predators – until they’re ready to make it on their own. For an added measure of protection, consider our Koi Shelters, which provide safe havens for koi of all sizes.

Koi eggs generally hatch within a week. So, within a few days from your first sighting, you’ll be graced with an abundance of koi fry. When they’re first hatched, koi fry can’t swim – so they attach themselves to the sides of the pond to grow. Within three or four days, your koi fry will begin to swim.

While it might be tempting to give your fry a welcome feast, there’s no need. During the first stages of their development, your koi will find sufficient natural food in the pond. By the time they’re approximately three to four weeks old, the koi fry should be between ¼” and ½’ long – and they’ll still be capable of finding sufficient natural food in the pond.

After two to three months, your fry will have reached between 2” and 3” in length. They’ll continue to grow until they’re between fifteen and twenty years old – so they’re just getting started. And with an average lifespan of approximately fifty years, you’ll have plenty of time to appreciate your koi, and the generations of offspring they’re sure to produce.